


Accidentally in Love

by Mireille



Series: Steve/Tony Teacher AU [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Teachers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mireille/pseuds/Mireille
Summary: Steve is totally not matchmaking. Not at all.And it's definitely not going to work.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor
Series: Steve/Tony Teacher AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936681
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59





	Accidentally in Love

**Author's Note:**

> I generally say "I don't revisit work that wasn't originally intended as part of a series," but the unwritten exception is "unless Sofy asks me to."

****

Thor had met Bruce Banner before they'd helped Steve move in with his boyfriend, of course. He wasn't sure he'd ever said more than "Hello," or "Is the copier still broken?" to the guy before then, but they did work in the same, not very large, school.

They just didn't have a lot to do with one another, because Bruce was the entire AP science department, and Thor taught remedial ninth- and tenth-grade English for five periods a day. Since Thor had a freshman homeroom, and Banner's were seniors, they didn't even have any overlapping students.

But Thor and Steve Rogers were friends--Steve had helped Thor coach T-ball last spring, for one thing--and Steve's boyfriend Tony and Bruce were friends, and so it sort of made sense, after Steve and Tony had moved in together just before the end of last school year, that their friends would be thrown together more often than not. 

Thor just wished that it didn't feel like the "throwing together" was so intentional.

****

"I'm not trying to match-make!" Steve insisted. "I know how embarrassing and annoying that can be, trust me. Hell, my first semester here, some of the kids tried to set me and Tony up, repeatedly."

"Yeah, I can see how annoyed and humiliated you were by that," Thor said, looking over at the patio, where Tony was swearing at the grill while he connected a new propane tank.

You couldn't even tease Steve about that. He just grinned happily and called, "Tony, if you can't get it fixed, maybe we should order pizza." 

"I've got it," Tony said. "I have a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT. This is a grill from Walmart. I'm going to win." 

"We're going to be ordering pizza," Bruce observed from the lawn chair he'd commandeered. 

"We're not going to order pizza," Tony insisted. "This is our last chance for a cookout before it gets too cold, and we're going to grill." 

Thor had been under the impression, when Steve had invited him, that this was supposed to be more than a four-person cookout. But Tony's college roommate hadn't been able to make the drive down, and Sam Wilson, the school guidance counselor, was proctoring the SAT today and "might swing by afterward, but don't count on me," and Thor didn't know who else they'd invited, but whoever it was, they'd had better things to do on a sunny October Saturday than to hang out in Steve and Tony's backyard eating hot dogs. 

Thor hadn't had anything better to do. T-ball season was long over, and his social life for the last year or so, since Jane had moved away to go to med school and they'd decided they were "better off as friends," had been nonexistent. 

That was better than having Steve shove him at Tony's friend, though. Especially since as far as Thor could see, the things he and Bruce had in common were "we work at the same school" and "our best local friends are a couple." 

"I know you mean well," Thor said quietly, while Bruce got up to help Tony do battle with the grill. "But please stop."

Steve gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look. "Tony and I just want to spend time with our friends. That's all this is, I swear." 

Thor wasn't dumb enough to believe him, but as long as Steve didn't push any harder than this, he could live with it.

****

"So what are you doing for Christmas break?" Steve said as he tried to saw through the cafeteria's "sweet potato patty" with a blunt butter knife. Eventually he gave up on table manners, speared it with his fork, and took a bite.

Steve didn't usually come to the cafeteria; he and Tony had the same lunch period, and they mostly packed lunches--well, Steve packed lunches for them both, because Steve was apparently getting in touch with his inner Martha Stewart--and ate together in Tony's classroom, along with a handful of students. 

But it was the school's Thanksgiving dinner today, even if Thanksgiving was still a week away, and Steve had decided that overcooked turkey, tough yams, and watery pumpkin pie were not to be missed. 

According to Steve, Tony had stopped at the sandwich shop downtown on their way to school, and had told Steve that one, Steve was on his own, and two, there were antacids in Tony's desk drawer if Steve needed them. Thor was starting to think Tony had the right idea, but he ate the school lunch because then all he had to do at night was make himself a peanut-butter sandwich or two.

Thor shrugged. "Grading compositions, probably," he said. "I don't really go in for the holidays." His parents were dead, he and his siblings weren't speaking to one another, and Thor was okay with that by now. Used to it, anyway. 

"I know, but that doesn't mean you didn't have some kind of plans. But listen. Tony wants to go out of town, somewhere sunny. Florida, probably, because I'm not letting him pay for the whole trip, and I can't afford anywhere farther away."

"And you want me to house sit?" He wouldn't mind that. Steve and Tony's house was a lot nicer than his apartment. More streaming services, too, and Tony had a top-notch gaming system. 

"No. We'll get the post office to hold the mail, and it won't be long enough for us to need anyone to come in and check on things. But... this isn't some kind of a big romantic getaway. We're asking our friends to join us, and I was wondering if you'd like to come." 

"Other people are coming?" Thor asked suspiciously. "I mean, more than one other person? Because if this is your idea of getting me in the same house as Banner for a week..." 

"Of course not. We did ask Bruce, but not just him. We haven't heard back from everybody yet, but my best friend from back home is coming, Tony's asked his friend Rhodey, and we've invited a couple of other people from here."

That sounded less like a set-up and more like exactly what Steve was describing it as. "Yeah," Thor said. "I think I can afford it."

"I did let Tony rent us a place," Steve said. "Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, on the beach. You just have to get yourself there."

Four bedrooms meant that he'd be sharing a room with someone. That was fine. If he spoke up quickly, even if Steve was in the mood to "totally not match-make," he wouldn't be in a room with Bruce Banner. 

So really, this could wind up being a lot of fun.

****

Thor hadn't counted on Bruce himself.

They were in Florida for eleven days--arriving on the twenty-third and flying back on the second, which gave them a day to rest and do their laundry before school started up again on the fourth--and most of the group was there for the entire time: Steve, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Tony's friend Rhodey, Steve's friend Bucky, and Natasha Romanov, who didn't teach at the school, but who did coach the school dance team, so Thor had talked to her a few times. 

She was there in part because she was dating Sam, and in part because Steve liked her. Sam would be joining them later, after he spent Christmas day at his parents' house. Natasha and Sam hadn't been a couple long enough for her to want to do Christmas with Sam's family.

"So, we're going to have to share rooms," Bruce said in the cab from the airport; he and Thor had been on the same flight.

"Yeah," Thor said. "Eight people, four bedrooms. Steve said some of them have twin beds, though."

"I know," Bruce said. "But I don't like sharing a bedroom with a stranger. I've met Jim Rhodes once, but I don't really know him, and I haven't met Steve's friend at all. And presumably Steve and Tony will be in a room together, and Sam and Natasha, once Sam gets here." And before that, none of them were going to insist that Natasha had to share her room with one of them. 

Dammit, Thor thought. He could say no, ask one of the other guys if he wanted to share, but then he'd look like an asshole. 

And it didn't really matter. Like he'd said, Steve had seen pictures of the rental, and at least some of the rooms had twin beds. He knew one room had a queen, but Steve and Tony had claimed that, and since Tony was renting the place for them, nobody was going to argue. If there was a second room with a double bed, Natasha and Sam could have it. 

The school system wouldn't pay for anyone to have a single room at conferences if they could avoid it, so Thor had shared a hotel room with people he liked a lot less than he liked Bruce Banner. 

"Okay, fine," Thor said, because it wasn't Bruce's fault that Steve had a yenta streak in him. Bruce didn't seem to be behind it, or anything. This was all Steve, and hey, if Thor and Bruce were rooming together, maybe that would be enough to satisfy him and he'd just let Thor enjoy his vacation.

****

"I owe you an apology," Bruce said, as Thor downed a second cup of coffee and waited for the ibuprofen to kick in.

"Did you know Tony mixes drinks that strong and choose not to tell me? Because if not, I don't know what you have to apologize for." They were the only people awake this morning--it was just barely still morning, because it had been eleven when Thor dragged himself out of bed.

All right, no, they were just the only people out of bed, because Tony and Steve had definitely been awake when Thor had passed their bedroom. The rest of them were probably sleeping off the effects of a New Year's Eve party bartended by Tony Stark. Thor hadn't realized how lethal Tony's drinks were; he usually stuck to beer. 

He was only awake because he'd needed the bathroom, and then his head had hurt so much that he'd decided he shouldn't even try sleeping again until he'd done something about that. And Bruce was awake because... 

"How are you not even hung over?" Thor demanded. 

Bruce shrugged. "Not much of a drinker. I had two beers the whole evening and avoided anything Tony tried to hand me. But I had no idea they'd be strong; I just didn't want them."

Thor nodded, wincing as his head and stomach protested. "Then what's the apology for?" 

"Tony got talkative last night."

"Tony's always talkative, though. He probably talks in his sleep."

"He does," Bruce confirmed. "We shared a room when the kids went to the state robotics competition last year. But I meant more so than usual. Or at least, about things he wouldn't normally have told me." 

"Like what?" he said, frowning. 

"Like that Steve's been trying to set us up all year," Bruce said, sighing. "I swear, I had no idea. Tony isn't involved--he says he figures that if I want help with my love life, I'll ask for it--but he knows Steve is up to something." 

"I know," Thor said. "Steve insists he's not matchmaking."

"What does he think he's doing, then?" 

"Giving us opportunities to get to know one another," Thor said. "Which is why every time they ask one of us over, they ask both of us."

Bruce shrugged. "I guess I could start saying no." 

"Or we could just say yes to whatever invitations sound good, knowing what Steve's up to, and just don't worry about the motivation behind it? Stupid scheme or not, Tony's one of your best friends, right? And Steve's one of mine. So why shouldn't we spend time with our friends, and _their_ friends, and just pretend we have absolutely no idea what Steve's doing?" 

Bruce brightened. "That sounds doable. It's not like I'd have to work hard to pretend, either, since I didn't find out until yesterday, and I bet Tony won't remember he told me." 

"Then it's a deal," Thor said. He didn't mention that Steve knew that Thor had figured him out. It didn't matter, because Thor was just going to pretend he thought Steve had stopped. 

Steve was a good friend, and Thor couldn't be angry that he was trying to help, but he did deserve to see his plans crash and burn.

****

"I can't believe you signed up to chaperone this dance," Thor said, rescuing a bottle of ginger ale before it got dumped into the sickly pink-colored punch in the punch bowls. "Isn't Tony annoyed?"

"Look over there and tell me whether or not Tony's annoyed," Steve said, waving across the gym, past the girls in their best dresses and the boys looking strangled by neckties, to where Tony was standing, his arms folded across his chest, glaring at Steve. 

"You're sleeping on the couch?" 

"If Tony has a problem, he can sleep on the couch," Steve said. "They didn't put the date on the sign-up sheet! I didn't realize the dance was today!"

"You didn't realize the Valentine's Day dance was on Valentine's Day," Thor repeated. 

"And it's four of our 'volunteer' hours," Steve went on. "Basketball games only count as one, because the booster club takes over once the game starts." 

"That's why I'm here," Thor agreed. "It's probably why Bruce is here, though he looks like he's really regretting it now that he's been cornered by Tony. But you guys were barely dating last Valentine's Day. Tony probably had big plans for you this weekend, and instead, you're chaperoning a high school dance. At least you didn't sign up to supervise clean-up tomorrow morning."

Steve didn't say anything. 

"Tell me you didn't sign up to supervise clean-up tomorrow." 

"Four more hours," Steve pointed out. They were each required to put in twenty hours of "volunteer" time: selling tickets for ballgames, supervising dances, handing out programs at the band concert. Thor got the feeling Steve had let his slide this year, what with having just moved in with Tony, if he was trying to pack eight hours into a weekend. 

"Oh, for god's sake," Thor muttered. He hadn't signed up, because with tonight's hours, he only needed four more for the rest of the school year, and he'd get those in May when he went to help the primary school with their field day. 

Also because watching ninth graders clean up streamers and mop spilled punch didn't strike him as a way to spend a Saturday morning. 

"Does Tony know yet?" 

Steve nodded. "I signed him up too." 

"That's either really brave or really stupid," Thor said. "But either way, hang on a second." 

He made his way across the gym, stopping occasionally to drop a quiet hint to kids who were getting a little carried away. He didn't expect them to behave with perfect decorum, but you were supposed to grope your date in the parking lot, not on the dance floor. 

Finally, he reached Bruce and Tony. 

"--and if this is what he thinks we should do for Valentine's Day, I don't even know why I bother. Do you know how far in advance I had to make those reservations?" Tony was ranting, which probably explained why Bruce looked so glad to see Thor. 

"In November," Bruce said, wearily. "Hey, Thor."

"That's right," Tony went on, not even noticing that Bruce had stopped listening. "Three months ago. Do you know how bad I am at remembering things in advance?" 

"Hey," Thor said. "Quick question. Are you signed up to supervise the cleanup crew tomorrow?"

"No, of course not, because I'm not an idiot." 

"He is," Thor said, nodding toward Tony. "His boyfriend is an idiot." 

"So I've heard," Bruce said. "At great length. I'm thinking about going over and asking Vice-Principal Hill to dance just to get away from him, and she terrifies me."

"She terrifies everyone," Thor agreed. "But anyway, I'm thinking that no one's going to care if two other people show up and work their volunteer hours." 

"Why would we do that?"

Thor shrugged. "I'm doing it because I like Steve, and he fucked up. I'm trying to help him out. But it doesn't do much good if only one of them has the morning off tomorrow." 

"Do you think that's going to be enough to get Steve out of trouble?"

"No," Thor said, "but it's going to stop it from getting any worse. It's also going to give him time to try to make things up to Tony."

"They had reservations at some fancy restaurant in the city," Bruce said. "There's no way they could make them now. Tony booked a hotel for them for the weekend, too."

"Okay, so we cover for them so they skip out of here a little early, check into the hotel late, and have the rest of their weekend. And I'm pretty sure Tony can think of things Steve can do to apologize for the restaurant." Thor grinned. "And you won't have to listen to Tony bitching about how badly Steve fucked up Valentine's day, every day next week during your planning period." Bruce's classroom was taken over by a floater from the business department during his free period; he spent it in Tony's room most days. 

Bruce considered that for a moment. "And you'll climb the ladder to get the stuff down from the rafters?"

"Probably," Thor said, "unless some of the kids really annoy me." 

"It's a deal," Bruce said, "but you're buying me lunch afterward."

****

"Are you serious about wanting me to help you coach T-ball?"

Thor blinked and looked up to see Bruce standing in the doorway of his classroom. "No?" he said. "I mean, if you want to do it, you'd be welcome, but this is the first I heard of it." 

"Steve told me you were going to ask me to help you." Before Thor could answer, Bruce said, "And now that I hear myself say that, I know you didn't know anything about it." 

"I know Steve's not helping this year," he said. "He promised he'd design the sets for the spring musical. He's going to help me coach pee-wee soccer, but that doesn't start until July. So he might have thought I needed some help...."

"I don't know anything about T-ball," Bruce said. 

"Neither do any of the kids." Thor smiled. "I coach the junior T-ball league, which means three- and four- year-olds. If they're old enough to start kindergarten in the fall, they're too old for my team. We use Nerf balls. We don't keep score. We don't even have proper teams, we just divide the kids up every Saturday." 

"So what you're saying is that not knowing anything about baseball doesn't really matter." 

"It really doesn't. We mostly work on coordination, taking turns, good sportsmanship, and not running away screaming when someone manages to hit the ball in your direction." He shrugged. "It's only on Saturdays. Eight to eleven. We practice for a while, have a snack, and then play a 'game.' It's fresh air, a little exercise, and watching little kids run around like maniacs. It's kind of great. And I do need the help. The more adults around, the better."

"I guess I could do that," Bruce said. "Although I might not be the best teacher for 'don't run away screaming when someone hits the ball your way.'" 

Thor laughed. "Maybe I can give you some remedial lessons in that before the season starts up."

****

"Are you free for lunch today?" Bruce asked, as they packed up the equipment and put it in the back of Thor's truck. Most of the kids were already gone; a few of them were finishing up their juice boxes before they got in their parents' cars, but Thor and Bruce were free to go as soon as they'd cleaned up the field.

"...We're halfway through the season," Thor said. "I thought we had a routine by now, Banner. You bring coffee and bagels because you drive right past the shop. We coach. I take you to lunch." 

"You don't have to buy lunch every week," Bruce argued. "It's not like the bagels are expensive." 

"I'm going to start ordering extra everything, then, just to get you to stop arguing with me. Grilled cheese sandwiches from the diner aren't expensive, either, and I don't see a reason to do the math." He hoisted the bag full of bats and shoved it into the truck. "Anyway, yes, I'm free for lunch. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You might have plans."

"I do. I have the same exact plan I have every Saturday from now through Memorial Day: coffee and bagels, coaching T-ball, lunch with you. Potentially going to the laundromat this afternoon to wash my clothes and grade some quizzes about semicolons, but only if you don't want to come over and watch the new Batman movie with me." 

Bruce blinked at him. "Why would I come over to watch Batman?"

"Hot men in spandex," Thor said. "We were in Florida when it came out, and then we were grading exams, and then I had the flu, and then I'd missed it, but it hit Netflix yesterday."

"No, I mean, why do you want me to come over and watch it with you?"

"Because I thought you looked like you could use some spandex-wearing hotness in your life," Thor said, "and also because you're my friend, and I thought you might want to hang out." 

"I'm going to have to grade papers," Bruce said. 

"No problem. I have the those quizzes. Semicolons for English I, _Julius Caesar_ for English II. We can watch a movie and grade papers and then maybe order pizza for dinner. I mean, if _you_ have plans, that's okay." 

"Yeah, I have plans. I'm watching movies and grading papers and please tell me your apartment is less of a trash heap than your truck." 

That was harsh, but fair. Thor had an extended-cab truck because that was what the used-car dealership had when he needed a new one, and the backseat tended to be piled high with stuff he didn't bother to put away. 

"My apartment is fine," Thor said. He'd cleaned it last night, in fact, because he'd already had this in mind. "One thing, though. Don't tell Tony about this, because then Steve will know, and Steve will think..."

Bruce groaned. "Yeah, let's make this our little secret."

****

"What are we watching this afternoon?" Bruce said as he set his bag down on Thor's coffee table. "It should be something special, since it's our last Saturday like this."

"It doesn't have to be," Thor said. "I know this is the last Saturday for T-ball, but that doesn't mean that we can't hang out."

"We aren't going to have papers to grade after next weekend, either," Bruce said. Final exams were next week, and the weekend after that, they'd be on summer vacation. 

"So we just watch movies," Thor said, and then shook his head. "Sorry. That came out pushy. I appreciate the company grading papers, I really appreciate the coaching help, and I'll back off now. You're probably not really the 'hanging out' type." 

"I'm not," Bruce said. 

"Okay." He sighed. "I think I let Steve get to me," he said. "I started thinking that maybe..." He trailed off. "You don't want to know what I started thinking." 

Bruce looked up at him, smiling a little. "I might." 

That was encouraging. "I started thinking that as much as I enjoy our Saturdays, there are a few problems with them."

"Such as?"

"Well, one, they're only Saturdays. We don't see each other that much during the week." 

"And two?"

Ah, hell, if this was a mistake, they'd have eight weeks to get over the awkwardness. "Two, there isn't nearly enough kissing." 

Bruce started laughing, and for a second, Thor wanted to find a way to disappear.

Then he realized what Bruce was saying. "You dork," he said. "All of this 'don't tell Steve we're hanging out, he'll try to get us to date,' and we've apparently been going out for two months now." 

"Have we?" Thor considered for a moment. "Yeah, maybe we have."

"So, are you going to do something about that 'not enough kissing' problem?"

****

They hadn't been keeping this a secret.

But "this" had been too new for them to want to say anything about it before the school year ended, and then Steve and Tony had been gone for the entire summer; Tony was filling in for some guy who crewed dirt track races and had gotten hurt. The class Steve was taking was mostly online, so Steve had gone with him; Thor hadn't seen him since the day after post-planning ended. 

And so here it was, the first day of the new school year, and neither of them had told their closest friends that they'd been a couple since May.

Bruce was off trying to coax a whiteboard eraser out of the secretary, since his had vanished over the summer, while Thor waited outside the teachers' lounge, a cup of coffee in each hand. 

Steve looked like he'd had a good summer; he'd picked up a tan, and he looked rested, which would probably last all the way until the kids showed up on Monday. "Tell me that coffee's for me," he said. "The coffeemaker in Tony's classroom is broken again. He almost cried." 

"You can have it," Thor said, handing over Bruce's cup. "It's black."

"Black works." Steve took a sip. "Also, I wanted to talk to you before the meetings started."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I feel bad about last year. I was kind of pushing you and Bruce together, even after you asked me to stop. I won't do that any more."

"Good," Thor said, trying to look stern. "It got really annoying."

He'd probably have gone further, but Bruce came out of the office, waving his eraser like a trophy. 

"You didn't get me any coffee?" 

"Steve stole it."

"Oh well," Bruce said. "I'll have to settle for this instead." And he kissed Thor--quickly, because it wasn't exactly professional behavior even if the kids weren't anywhere around--before going into the lounge to get his coffee. 

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Steve said. "You're trying to get back at me for last year?"

"Yeah, that's it. We fake-dated all summer, when you weren't even here, just to set you up." 

Steve gaped at him, Thor grinned back, and then went into the lounge to find his boyfriend.

****

**Author's Note:**

> This fic (and by extension, the entire series) exists in a world not quite like ours, one in which the calendar and the schedule of _Batman_ movies being released don't necessarily match up with anything in reality. (Originally it was _Aquaman_ , but that was too real-world and I couldn't tweak things to my satisfaction.) 
> 
> Junior T-ball, on the other hand, is a thing that really exists, at least in some places. 20 years ago, I spent every spring Saturday in the bleachers watching it.


End file.
